Work can sometimes be a real drag, especially, because some co-workers can be a real pain in the hind end. Now imagine being the manager or floor leader in charge of all those jokers, and getting an angry boss breathing down the backside on the other end of things. Believe it or not there are tools to help managers find how best to assemble the team they need to put out the best product they can. The most used tool to date for that data is the Thomas Kilmann conflict mode instrument.

This tool works by helping to set an archetype for how a person will respond to certain adversities in the workplace environment. The way this works is by having the person undergo a short series of questions that will determine where that person falls on a chart of personality types. The questions are laid out as an option to choose one answer or the other in an adverse situation. It only takes about twenty minutes to complete, and then another hour or so for a trained person to analyze the results.

This useful tool came on the business scene in 1974 thanks to the developers hard work. Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann were the developers of this system that has it’s roots come from the older style systems. The results of the questions answered lead to a person falling on a chart very similar to that of the other systems. The difference in the charts is that this one measures a persons assertiveness to cooperative ratio. The other systems have a number system for the results, which is slightly more confusing. Other than the end results having a similar feel to them there are almost no comparisons to make between the two styles of conflict solving resolutions. This method uses thirty this or that questions that have answers that are both considered acceptable. All a person has to do is answer whichever answer they feel is more something they would do to handle the situation that is described. Once all the answers have been filled out and compiled the person is left with a base overview of personality traits that would best describe how they will behave at work.

This incredibly handy tool has been helping to put people in places they belong for many years now, and will for many more thanks to the next to perfect design from the two gentlemen that started it’s use. It is used by more than just factories too. Fast-food restaurants, car dealerships, and even Fortune 500 companies use this tool to help get the business up, and to keep it running steady. With little improvement to be made to it either it looks like this tool will be around for many years to come.